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Filet Mignon Beef Stroganoff

One of my favorite culinary styles is high/low cooking. High/low cooking basically takes a dish that is considered plain, humble, peasant food, or junk food and turns the volume up giving it a gourmet twist. That is what I have done with this beef stroganoff.

Beef stroganoff is originally a Russian dish that is considered to be peasant food. It is a very no fuss dish with simple, comforting flavors. As someone who is of Russian decent of course this is an extremely familiar dish to me. My mom used to make it all the time and my dad has what seems like a never ending craving for it. The one thing is my family has a little secret that takes stroganoff to the next level, filet mignon. Think about it, in the world of butchery filet mignon is considered to be the crown jewel of beef. Using a supple, luxury cut of steak to amp up the flavors and textures in a simple dish like this is a winning combination.

However the cut of meat is not the only gem in this dish. My stroganoff has a rich and warm gravy filled with mushrooms and onions and I reduce beer to augment the flavors and add a little extra oomph. One of my favorite things about stroganoff is that the leftovers are arguably better than when the dish is served fresh! The more time it has to sit the thicker and hardier the gravy becomes. This is a perfect dish for families and weeknight cooking.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pound beef tenderloin (filet mignon), cut into strips

8 oz baby bella/crimini mushrooms, sliced

1 yellow onion, chopped

all purpose flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup beer, I used Pabst Blue RIbbon

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Enough beef broth to fill the mushroom soup can 1 1/3 times

1 1/4 cup sour cream

salt, garlic powder, black pepper garlic

Start by sprinkling your steak strips with the salt, garlic, and black pepper. Heat your butter and oil over medium high heat. While the butter melts cover your beef with flour. Add them to the pan and quickly brown them on each side, about 1-2 minutes. Remove your steak from the pan and add the mushrooms and onion. You want to cook it until the onion is translucent, about 3-6 minutes. Add one tablespoon of flour to the onion and mushroom mixture and add the beef back into the pan. Cook that for a few minutes to get the raw flour flavor out. Add the beer to the pan and give it a minute to allow the alcohol to burn off. Then add the mushroom soup and finally the beef broth. Stir it all together, cover, turn the heat down to low, and let simmer for 40 minutes.

Once the dish has thickened add the sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. I served my stroganoff over buttered egg noodles with a couple of shots of vodka on the side just to round out the Russian dining experience.